The Squirrel Nut Zippers and The Erin McKeown Trio will be among the artists performing at the third annual Nelsonville Art and Music Festival Saturday, July 14 at Stuart's Opera House.
No fewer than five bands will be performing. The Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Erin McKeown Trio, Hillbilly Idol, Bakelite 78, and Brave Combo are all expected to take the stage.
Festival patrons will not only be able to see the concert, but appreciate the local artwork as well. Art will be on display and available for sale by regional artists, crafts people and The Nelsonville Historic Art District.
Alcoholic beverages and food from local vendors will be on sale. Seating is not provided, so guests are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets. Dogs and coolers, however, are prohibited.
Tickets are on sale through the Stuart's Opera House box office and Athens' Blue Eagle Music, 40 N. Court St. Advance-sale tickets ' available until July 8 ' are $15. From July 9 until the day of the festival, tickets are $20.
The executive director of Stuart's Opera House, Tim Peacock, is responsible for organizing the festival. We are expecting 1
500-2 000 people Peacock said. It should be a great night of music
local art
food and drinks. Our goal is to someday build this into a weekend event
attracting thousands of people annually.
All of the proceeds from the event will go to the Stuart's Opera House.
Those familiar with the dexterous and delightfully kitschy style of the Squirrel Nut Zippers would probably not be surprised to learn that the band's name pays homage to an old-time candy bar. Indeed, there is something nutty yet thoroughly satisfying about their interpretation of classic jazz sounds. These cats seem to prefer Cab Calloway to Herbie Hancock, and it shows in their vibrant instrumentations and dark comedic flair (see: Hell
their 1997 leftfield hit). The Post's Katie Stafford recently sat down for a verbal jam session with SNZ drummer Chris Phillips:
Post: Have you played the Nelsonville Art and Music Festival before?
Phillips: No, I have not. I'm excited to find out where the hell Nelsonville is, exactly.
Post: It's roughly two hours south of Columbus.
Phillips: MmhmmG?well, this Nelsonville sounds very mysterious. We'll have to come explore it. We will come with flags and whistles. We mostly play in larger cities, but I love Ohio'it's a beautiful place.
Post: Do you or your band mates like outdoor activities, like hiking?
Phillips: Yeah man, we are totally into that.
Post: Great, because there are several national forests, caves and hiking trails near Nelsonville.
Phillips: Oh wow, cool. Yeah, we love that stuff. We love, love getting out of the van and seeing stuff. We love to go out to the pubs, order a couple pitchers, talk with peopleG?hit up the historic museums. I've played with so many bands that just want to sit in the hotel room, smoke and watch TV and it just used to drive me bat shit.
Post: From where do you draw inspiration?
Phillips: I try to react to the moment and just really be present in the moment. (My inspirations) have always been John Bonham from Led Zeppelin, and punk rock and rock 'n' roll. That's what's funny about playing with the Squirrel Nut Zippers, because I'm not a jazz drummer, but it's been cool expanding my playing into a new expression.
Post: So I'm curious, with so many band members, since there are seven of you, is there ever competition as to who gets more exposure, i.e. Christopher Walken's demand for more cowbell?
Phillips: (Laughs) I've got a fever! Fortunately, there is not. We work on the set and we structure it out so that everyone gets their time. And we just have so much fun playing together and improvising.
Post: How often do you guys travel?
Phillips: We go tour for about a week to ten days at a time, once every month or two. Right now, we all have kids and, although we want to put together great recordings, we also want a quality of life. It's funny because when we were busy enjoying our success with Hell
I put no value on quality of life. I didn't care. I just wanted to go do shows all the time, and now we have much more common ground and stability. You know, now that we are old and we all have canes and walkers, it's always hard to try and get our wheelchairs up and off of the stage, though.
Post: So did you always want to have a career in music when you were growing up?
Phillips: Yeah, I grew up playing in punk rock bands and I desperately wanted to play music and be proud of that. I always had that really strong drive to make it my way of life. So it's become more of a journey and less of a destination. If you're constantly focused on the destination, sometimes you miss the trip.
Post: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Phillips: Look out Nelsonville, here we come!
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